Backlash Over the New Big Ten Logo: Playing It Oh-So-Painfully Safe

Members of the Midwest community of colleges are erupting with discontent. (Via NESN)

Nebraska’s addition to one of college athletics’ strongest power conferences was a moment of pomp and circumstance. Once the celebratory dust cleared, a logistical question came into play. With a 12th team added to the Big Ten, how would that alter the conference’s traditional name and logo?

Monday morning marked a shakeup in Big Ten Country, as the conference announced a series of changes to acclimate its newest member into athletic competition. Among those edits was the unveiling of the new Big Ten emblem — a design which looks as if it needed an elementary-school stencil and an oven timer to complete.

“Its contemporary collegiate lettering includes an embedded numeral ’10’ in the word ‘BIG,’ which allows fans to see ‘BIG’ and ’10’ in a single word,” said Michael Gericke in a statement — one half of the Pentagram team that put together the idea. “Memorable and distinctive, the new logo evolved from the previous logo’s use of negative space and is built on the conference’s iconic name, without reference to the number of member institutions.”

Outside of that artistic explanation, the Big Ten also unveiled its lineup of two new divisions. Most conferences opt for a geographic code to separate its teams (North, South, East, West, Atlantic and Coastal all come to mind). In continuance of its bold offseason, the Big Ten chose ‘Leaders’ and ‘Legends’ (not to be confused with ‘Losers’ and ‘Louses’ once bowl season arrives).

Puzzled by that choice? Commissioner Jim Delany clarified any soft points by defining the intentions behind the new names.

“‘Legends’ is a nod to our history and to the people associated with our schools who are widely recognized as legends – student-athletes, coaches, alumni and faculty,” said Delany in a statement. “‘Leaders’ looks to the future as we remain committed to fostering leaders, the student-athletes who are encouraged to lead in their own way for the rest of their lives, in their families, in their communities and in their chosen professions.”